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en-usCopyright 2015 AOL Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only.Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/02/02/know-your-lore-tfh-edition-unraveling-azeroth/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=WoW&ncid=rss_semi
http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/02/02/know-your-lore-tfh-edition-unraveling-azeroth/http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/02/02/know-your-lore-tfh-edition-unraveling-azeroth/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=WoW#commentsThe World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft.

What a map, huh? I've gotten plenty of mileage out of it -- only it was an older edition of the map, before we took Mists of Pandaria into account. Now the map has slightly changed, along with the meaning involved, and I guess there's sort of a star, although it's six pointed, now -- which means we've got another puzzle to unravel, one I've been trying to untangle for a very long time. And while I don't have all the answers (I never seem to, in these articles), we have enough information to ask some really interesting questions, and come up with some really crazy theories.

Not just about Azeroth, about the Warcraft cosmos -- that strange expanse of universe that involves a mighty battle we still don't quite understand. Draenor's involved, Azeroth's involved -- according to Algalon, there are millions of worlds that have been involved -- but how do they interlink? When I first created this map, oh so long ago, it was under the presumption that there were five old gods, which correlated to the five Dragon Aspects of Azeroth. I wasn't quite wrong, as I discovered in Thrall: Twilight of the Aspects, but I wasn't quite right either. We have a sixth star, in Pandaria. I'm a fan of correlation -- so else what do we have six of?

But before we get into that, let's talk about the naaru. Because that seems like a good place to begin.

Today's Know Your Lore is a Tinfoil Hat edition. The following contains speculation based on known material. These speculations are merely theories and shouldn't be taken as fact or official lore.

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age-of-chaosage-of-mortalsazerothburning-legiondraenordragon-aspectsfeaturedguideguide-to-lorelorelore-guidenaaruorcsrole-playrole-playing-guiderp-guidesargerastitansworld-of-warcraftworld-of-warcraft-lorewow-guidewow-lorewow-role-playingwow-role-playing-guidewow-rpwow-rp-guidewow-rpingMon, 02 Feb 2015 16:00:00 -050099|21137447http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/02/01/know-your-lore-tfh-first-the-ripples-then-the-stone/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=WoW&ncid=rss_semi
http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/02/01/know-your-lore-tfh-first-the-ripples-then-the-stone/http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/02/01/know-your-lore-tfh-first-the-ripples-then-the-stone/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=WoW#commentsThe World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft.

For my last KYL, a hat made of tinfoil. You know the drill - for the farewell of this column, Anne and I are going to go out speculating. This one's mine. You might want to read this old KYL to get a handle on the concepts I'm going to be throwing around. The idea is simple enough to start with, however. We know that at some point in the distant past, over twenty five thousand years ago, the fallen Titan Sargeras sought out a world whose inhabitants were powerful, with great potential for magic. Their culture was ancient - so very ancient that it had already risen and fallen and risen again, creating not one, but two golden ages. They were the eredar. Sargeras's offer was accepted, and the majority of the race along with two of the three triumvirs that ruled Argus entire became man'ari, corrupted.

Barely a tenth of the race resisted and escaped, led by Velen and aided by the naaru, who sent the mighty Genedar, a dimension ship, to rescue them from this corruption. Velen first contacted the naaru using the Ata'mal Crystal, an ancient artifact of their people which was said to be a relic of their distant past. This has always interested me - the Ata'mal Crystal is said to be an eredar relic, yet it summons the naaru and their dimension ship, and when it is used in this fashion it shatters into seven fragments, each of which manifest strange new powers when used properly.

Where am I going with this? Well, Sargeras was a Titan. Like all Titans, he has strange and almost unfathomable powers, and he seeks to undo the works of his fellow Titans, his former friends and allies in the Pantheon. He sought out the eredar - he went looking for them. This has always struck me as interesting, because the eredar resemble a race created by the Titans here on Azeroth, namely the mogu.

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draeneiexodarfeaturedgenedarguideguide-to-lorelorelore-guidemoguold-godsrole-playrole-playing-guiderp-guidesargerastitansworld-of-warcraft-lorewow-guidewow-lorewow-role-playingwow-role-playing-guidewow-rpwow-rp-guidewow-rpingSun, 01 Feb 2015 20:00:00 -050099|21137444http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/25/know-your-lore-tinfoil-hat-edition-the-ordering-of-draenor-and/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=WoW&ncid=rss_semi
http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/25/know-your-lore-tinfoil-hat-edition-the-ordering-of-draenor-and/http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/25/know-your-lore-tinfoil-hat-edition-the-ordering-of-draenor-and/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=WoW#commentsThe World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft.

According to various accounts, the Titans have had their hands on almost every inhabitable world in the universe. Certainly Algalon had to keep an eye on more than one planet in his impossibly-long life -- he says as much when we stop him from sending the signal that would re-originate our world. This fact alone is enough to indicate that in the Warcraft universe, worlds aren't quite as unique as we'd expect them to be. If the Titans had a hand in their ordering, they're likely going to have at least some similarities.

But it doesn't mean that every world we come across is going to be just like Azeroth. We've been presented with the idea, time and time again, that Azeroth is unique in the universe. It's special. There's something about it that sets it apart from every other world. And yet, when you hold Azeroth and Draenor next to each other and take a good long look at what they are, you can see the bare bones of what was once upon a time, a blueprint shared between the two. Unfortunately, the comparison raises more questions that it seems to answer -- but those questions are pretty important.

Today's Know Your Lore is a Tinfoil Hat edition. The following contains speculation based on known material. These speculations are merely theories and shouldn't be taken as fact or official lore.

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aspectsazerothdawn-of-the-aspectsdraenordragon-aspectsfeaturedguideguide-to-lorelorelore-guiderole-playrole-playing-guiderp-guidetitanstyrwarlords-of-draenorworld-of-warcraft-lorewow-guidewow-lorewow-role-playingwow-role-playing-guidewow-rpwow-rp-guidewow-rpingSun, 25 Jan 2015 20:00:00 -050099|21134447http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/18/know-your-lore-breakers-and-primals/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=WoW&ncid=rss_semi
http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/18/know-your-lore-breakers-and-primals/http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/18/know-your-lore-breakers-and-primals/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=WoW#commentsThe World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft.

What is Draenor, exactly? It's a world beset by war on many different levels -- there's the threat of the Iron Horde, of course, and battling clans among the orcs, fighting with the ogres, skirmishes between orc and draenei. But beyond that, there's another layer of conflict on the world, one that seems like a much larger struggle, one far more ancient and primal than anything the orcs, ogres, draenei, or even the arakkoa could conjure up.

In the wilds of Gorgrond, a struggle is taking place that almost seems to serve as a backdrop to the main Iron Horde-centered story we're concerned with. While we struggle with the Iron Horde and their plans, massive creatures both plant and rock are embroiled in a constant battle with each other, either unaware of our presence, or so intent on their purpose that we are simply being ignored. Or, to turn that around, we are so insignificant in the face of this conflict that to these giants of the world, we don't even register as being anything of importance at all.

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botanibreakerscolossalsDraenorfeaturedgenesaurgorgrondgronnguideguide-to-lorelorelore-guidemagnaronogresogronpodlingsprimalsrole-playrole-playing-guiderp-guideTitanswarlords-of-draenorworld-of-warcraft-lorewow-guidewow-lorewow-role-playingwow-role-playing-guidewow-rpwow-rp-guidewow-rpingSun, 18 Jan 2015 20:00:00 -050099|21131315http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/28/know-your-lore-wrathion-and-draenor/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=WoW&ncid=rss_semi
http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/28/know-your-lore-wrathion-and-draenor/http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/28/know-your-lore-wrathion-and-draenor/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=WoW#commentsThe World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft.

We may have helped him in Pandaria, but we certainly didn't fulfill whatever it was Wrathion had on his peculiar wishlist of things to do in regards to his plans for Azeroth. The Black Prince has stated on more than one occasion that he seeks to protect the world from some kind of impending attack by the Burning Legion. He even showed us the vision he'd seen as part of the expansion-long legendary quest chain in the last expansion. Yet when the chain came to a close, Wrathion was less than pleased with the results -- he wanted a clearly defined winner in the battle between Alliance and Horde, and he didn't get it.

It was his next plan of action that was perhaps the most surprising, however. In the novel War Crimes, Garrosh Hellscream is placed on trial, and the end result for the former Warchief was a trip back in time to an alternate version of Draenor, courtesy of the bronze dragon Kairoz. But Kairoz wasn't alone in his efforts to take Garrosh back. Wrathion helped him out. And that's pretty strange when you think about it, because unleashing the Iron Horde on Azeroth seems like a really funny way to protect the planet. So what gives? More importantly, where is Wrathion now?

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admiral-taylorfeaturedgarrosh-hellscreamguideguide-to-lorekairozkairozdormulorelore-guidenagrandogresrole-playrole-playing-guiderp-guidespires-of-araktimeless-isletitansworld-of-warcraft-lorewow-guidewow-lorewow-role-playingwow-role-playing-guidewow-rpwow-rp-guidewow-rpingwrathionSun, 28 Dec 2014 20:00:00 -050099|21121723http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/03/know-your-lore-tinfoil-hat-edition-the-titans/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=WoW&ncid=rss_semi
http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/03/know-your-lore-tinfoil-hat-edition-the-titans/http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/03/know-your-lore-tinfoil-hat-edition-the-titans/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=WoW#commentsThe World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft.

They are enigmatic overlords of the universe as we know it, creatures of order and perfection, bent on a seemingly never-ending task of remaking worlds and creating order from the inherent chaos of the Great Dark Beyond. Titans, marvels largely beyond our comprehension, yet intrinsically tied to the creation of our world, and the unique place that Azeroth holds in the universe. Of all the worlds in all of the Great Dark Beyond, Azeroth was spared. Of all the worlds in the Great Dark Beyond, Azeroth warranted a second chance, despite being riddled with the corruption of the Old Gods.

But the choice that the Titans made thousands upon thousands of years ago is something we know about. It's been covered again and again, we've found artifacts strewn all over Azeroth that attest to the planet's unique history. And certainly we've asked, time and time again, why Azeroth is so unique, what makes it so special in the universe. But maybe that's the wrong question to be asking, because there are plenty of worlds out there that have been touched by the hands of the Titans. Nearly all of them. We share things in common -- both draenei and natives of Azeroth practice working with the Light. Both Azeroth and Draenor have, at some point, been touched by the Old Gods.

So maybe we should be turning that line of questioning the other way. Maybe what we should be asking is a question that never, ever gets asked -- what are the Titans?

Today's Know Your Lore is a Tinfoil Hat edition. The following contains speculation based on known material. These speculations are merely theories and shouldn't be taken as fact or official lore.

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burning-legiondraeneifeaturedguideguide-to-lorelorelore-guidenaaruold-godspantheonrole-playrole-playing-guiderp-guidesargerastitan-watcherstitanstyrworld-of-warcraft-lorewow-guidewow-lorewow-role-playingwow-role-playing-guidewow-rpwow-rp-guidewow-rpingSun, 03 Aug 2014 20:00:00 -040099|20941053http://massively.joystiq.com/2014/08/03/eve-evolved-capital-ships-ruined-nullsec/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Massively&ncid=rss_semi
http://massively.joystiq.com/2014/08/03/eve-evolved-capital-ships-ruined-nullsec/http://massively.joystiq.com/2014/08/03/eve-evolved-capital-ships-ruined-nullsec/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Massively#comments
All throughout EVE Online's lifetime, compelling stories of incredible events, daring heists, and colossal battles with thousands of players have periodically surfaced and spread across the gaming media like wildfire. Most of the recent stories have been about record-breaking battles between huge alliances of players in the lawless depths of null-security space, and each one has been met with an influx of new players who want to participate. The surprising truth behind nullsec warfare, however, is that many of those on the front lines are simply fed up with the political state of the game.

In EVE's early years, the map was split between hundreds of small alliances, each of which slowly expanded its influence by conquering the star systems bordering its space. Skirmishes and pirate incursions were brief and commonplace, while border wars over territory were long and protracted affairs. Today's nullsec is a different animal entirely, with nearly the entire map carved up between two colossal mega-coalitions of alliances (N3/PL and CFC), each one internally held in a state of perpetually monotonous peace. No alliance in a coalition can break away and stand on its own for fear of being demolished by the others, and so all of nullsec is at peace with its neighbours and bored to tears by it.

In this edition of EVE Evolved, I examine how nullsec got to the state it's in now and why it's badly in need of an overhaul.

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capitalcapital-shipsccpccp-gamescoalitioncoalition-warfareeveeve-evolvedeve-onlinefeaturedforce-projectiongame-designhistoryinterstellar-starbase-syndicateissjump-bridgejump-bridgesloremercenary-coalitionnullsecopinionpvpruinedsandboxsci-fisovereigntyterritorial-warfaretitantitanswarwarfareSun, 03 Aug 2014 18:00:00 -0400319|20936290http://massively.joystiq.com/2014/07/22/firefall-brings-multiple-raids-to-launch/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Massively&ncid=rss_semi
http://massively.joystiq.com/2014/07/22/firefall-brings-multiple-raids-to-launch/http://massively.joystiq.com/2014/07/22/firefall-brings-multiple-raids-to-launch/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Massively#comments
If you live and breathe big battles with lots of friends in MMOs, then you're going to be delighted when Firefall launches next week. The retuned sci-fi shooter will feature not one, not two, not four, but definitely three 20-person raids from the beginning.

A new dev diary posted today talks about two of the raids, the titans of Baneclaw and Kanaola. Baneclaw is a giant scarab that will roll around and unleash little hellclaw minions at any intruders. Kanaola goes the "big lava worm" route due to its proximity with a volcano. This fight will get tricky as molten hot magma will be rising as the fight progresses.

The raids will have some of the best loot in the game and will be on a seven-day lockout timer when beaten. These titans will become available when the playerbase works to gether up enough Dark Crystite to unlock the instances.

Titan raids
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dev-diarydungeonf2pfirefallfpsfree-to-playmmo-shooterpvpraidraidsred-5red-5-studiossci-fishooterthird-person-shootertitantitanswarTue, 22 Jul 2014 15:30:00 -0400319|20935260http://massively.joystiq.com/2014/06/08/eve-evolved-growing-the-eve-universe/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Massively&ncid=rss_semi
http://massively.joystiq.com/2014/06/08/eve-evolved-growing-the-eve-universe/http://massively.joystiq.com/2014/06/08/eve-evolved-growing-the-eve-universe/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Massively#comments
For much of EVE Online's early history, the playerbase saw consistent organic growth with no end in sight and developer CCP Games was able to stay laser-focused on its single game. The EVE universe has even had to grow several times to accomodate the increase in players, most notably with the opening of the drone nullsec regions and Apocrypha's addition of 2,499 hidden wormhole systems. EVE has survived the launch of countless high-profile MMOs in its lifetime and even weathered the monumental industry shift toward free-to-play business models, but it hasn't been plain sailing. While subscriptions have reportedly grown year-on-year, EVE's average concurrent player numbers haven't really increased since 2009.

The active EVE playerbase isn't really growing, so it should come as no surprise that CCP has been trying to expand the EVE universe on other fronts. Though the first attempt with console FPS DUST 514 was an unmitigated disaster, EVE players still seem quietly optimistic about its PC reboot as EVE: Legion. Dogfighter EVE: Valkyrie has also piqued the interest of the emerging virtual reality community and has the potential to introduce EVE to thousands of fresh faces. EVE's Creative Director Torfi Frans Olafsson even hinted during Fanfest 2014 that EVE Online, Valkyrie and Legion might all share a single login and that characters may eventually be able to switch between games at will.

In this edition of EVE Evolved, I look at why I think a shared login could be a stroke a genius, and interview EVE's Creative Director and Valkyrie's Executive Producer to find out what the future holds for the EVE universe.

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apocryphaccpccp-gamesconsoledogfighterdustdust-514eveeve-evolvedeve-legioneve-onlineeve-valkyrieevrfeaturedfpsinterviewlegionloremmofpsmobaoculus-riftowen-obrienplayerbaseplaystationplaystation-3ps3pvpsandboxsci-fishooterspace-stationsstorylinesubscriptionstitanstorfi-frans-olafssonvalkyrievirtual-realitySun, 08 Jun 2014 18:00:00 -0400319|20880733http://massively.joystiq.com/2014/05/01/eve-fanfest-2014-economy-talk-highlights-plex-prices-and-reveal/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Massively&ncid=rss_semi
http://massively.joystiq.com/2014/05/01/eve-fanfest-2014-economy-talk-highlights-plex-prices-and-reveal/http://massively.joystiq.com/2014/05/01/eve-fanfest-2014-economy-talk-highlights-plex-prices-and-reveal/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Massively#comments
When we asked our readers to to pick the EVE Fanfest panel they most wanted to hear about, the most popular choice by a comfortable margin was Economy: Into the Second Decade. So today I popped in to hear what CCP's Lead Economist Dr Eyjo had to say on the year's biggest economic events and plans for the future. The talk started with the usual comparison of ISK sinks vs. ISK faucets, showing the various ways that ISK enters and leaves the game. Too much entering could cause rapid inflation, while not enough could cause economic collapse.

A net value of around 20-25 trillion ISK is reportedly injected into the game each month, a level that Dr Eyjo insists isn't enough to cause any inflationary problems in the economy. The big focus of this year's economics talk was the destruction of around $270,000 US worth of Titan class supercapital ships in the recent Bloodbath of B-R5RB. Also on the table for discussion was the recent rapid increase in price of the 30 Day Pilot's License Extension (PLEX), an item that can be bought on the market for ISK and exchanged for game time. This can effectively make EVE free-to-play, but prices are now at over 700 million ISK and are starting to become prohibitive for some players.

Read on for a detailed breakdown of CCP's entire economics talk from Fanfest 2014, including surprising stats on how many titans are built each quarter.

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dr-eyjodr-eyjogdr-eyjolfur-gudmundssoneconomisteconomyeveeve-fanfesteve-fanfest-2014eve-onlineeve-online-fanfesteve-online-fanfest-2014eventevent-coveragefanfestfeaturedhalf-featureicelandmassively-event-coveragereykjaviktitantitansThu, 01 May 2014 21:00:00 -0400319|20878667http://www.joystiq.com/2014/03/04/titanfall-gameplay-launch-trailer-prepares-you-for-a-mech-drop/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Joystiq&ncid=rss_semi
http://www.joystiq.com/2014/03/04/titanfall-gameplay-launch-trailer-prepares-you-for-a-mech-drop/http://www.joystiq.com/2014/03/04/titanfall-gameplay-launch-trailer-prepares-you-for-a-mech-drop/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Joystiq#comments
With Titanfall's launch just one week away, we feel the only proper course of action is to watch every video for the game that's in reach. That includes this gameplay launch trailer for the game, which combines an appropriate amount of drama, mech-like titans, explosions, bouts of slow-motion and guys getting punched in the face. Well, we could do with a little more face-punching, to be certain.

If you're looking for more moving pictures related to the game, be sure to check out our video preview and our "beta massacre" special, in which six Joystiq staffers took on the game's PC beta as a team, meeting their digital demise collectively. Titanfall will launch on March 11 for Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC.

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EAea-gamesElectronic-Artsfpsgameplay-trailerlaunch-trailermechsmicrosoftpcRespawn-EntertainmentshootertitanfallTitanstrailerxboxxbox-oneTue, 04 Mar 2014 16:30:00 -050011|20842726http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/03/02/know-your-lore-tinfoil-hat-edition-emerald-dreams-and-draenor/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=WoW&ncid=rss_semi
http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/03/02/know-your-lore-tinfoil-hat-edition-emerald-dreams-and-draenor/http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/03/02/know-your-lore-tinfoil-hat-edition-emerald-dreams-and-draenor/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=WoW#commentsThe World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft.

Its existence is known by many, but it's accessed by only a scant few of the assorted races of Azeroth. Long ago, Malfurion Stormrage learned the ways of the druid from the Ancient Cenarius, and through that process, learned to travel through this mysterious place. Once under the protection of Ysera, it's currently undefined just how much influence the Aspect of the Green Dragonflight now has over the mystery that is the Emerald Dream -- but for years, it's been a haven for druids, and druids alone.

Over several expansions and through several novels we've seen the progression of the Emerald Nightmare -- in the novel Stormrage, the Nightmare was by and large defeated. In game, we rarely saw mention of it, although one or two quests happened to mention Malfurion's dilemma within the Dream, and a few quests actually sent us inside. In all honesty, the most we've seen out of this content in-game were files and exploration videos of old zones that were never developed. Yet there's something really fascinating about the Emerald Dream, something that captures the imagination and has many players clamoring for an expansion featuring that content.

So what does any of this have to do with Draenor?

Today's Know Your Lore is a Tinfoil Hat edition. The following contains speculation based on known material. These speculations are merely theories and shouldn't be taken as fact or official lore.

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draenordruid-loredruidsemerald-dreamemerald-nightmareeonarfeaturedguideguide-to-lorelorelore-guidemalfurion-stormragenordrassilrole-playrole-playing-guiderp-guidestormragestormrage-noveltitansworld-of-warcraft-lorewow-guidewow-lorewow-role-playingwow-role-playing-guidewow-rpwow-rp-guidewow-rpingyseraSun, 02 Mar 2014 20:00:00 -050099|20840855http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/02/23/know-your-lore-tinfoil-hat-edition-the-titans-azeroth-and-wr/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=WoW&ncid=rss_semi
http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/02/23/know-your-lore-tinfoil-hat-edition-the-titans-azeroth-and-wr/http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/02/23/know-your-lore-tinfoil-hat-edition-the-titans-azeroth-and-wr/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=WoW#commentsThe World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft.

Last week, we explored the legendary quests offered by Wrathion in detail, and managed to come up with some interesting theories regarding his purpose in Pandaria. No matter which way you look at it, what Wrathion says and what he actually does are two fairly different things. There's a story lying there, waiting to be discovered -- and while we've all been paying attention to what Pandaria has to offer, and the war between Alliance and Horde, Wrathion's clearly been working his own agenda.

But he's only two years old at this point. He's far from a fully grown dragon, yet he seems to be pulling together complicated strategies and plans like they're nothing at all. Certainly he may be a dragon, but is a dragon that young out of the shell really going to be that advanced? Wrathion would certainly like us to believe it. The problem is that we simply don't have any evidence to back up the story he's told us -- nor do we have any evidence of how he should be acting. He may be two, he may say he's a black dragon, but this "dragon" might in fact be something far more important than he claims -- more important than even he knows.

Today's Know Your Lore is a Tinfoil Hat edition. The following contains speculation based on known material. These speculations are merely theories and shouldn't be taken as fact or official lore.

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azerothblack-dragonflightburning-legionfeaturedgarrosh-hellscreamguideguide-to-lorelorelore-guidemists-of-pandariaold-godsrole-playrole-playing-guiderp-guidesargerastitansvarian-wrynnworld-of-warcraft-lorewow-guidewow-lorewow-role-playingwow-role-playing-guidewow-rpwow-rp-guidewow-rpingwrathionwrathion-legendary-chainwrathion-the-purifiedSun, 23 Feb 2014 20:00:00 -050099|20835484http://www.joystiq.com/2014/02/21/puzzles-and-dragons-next-collaboration-taps-the-robots-of-evang/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Joystiq&ncid=rss_semi
http://www.joystiq.com/2014/02/21/puzzles-and-dragons-next-collaboration-taps-the-robots-of-evang/http://www.joystiq.com/2014/02/21/puzzles-and-dragons-next-collaboration-taps-the-robots-of-evang/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Joystiq#comments
Having already joined forces with Batman and Hello Kitty, hyper-addictive puzzle roleplaying game Puzzle And Dragons will next feature the giant robots and angsty teens of the Evangelion anime series.

The event begins on February 24 in Japan, with the rest of world following suit in March. As with the previous crossover efforts, this event will see Evangelion characters appear in the game as party members with their own, unique sets of attacks and abilities. Puzzle And Dragons will also receive a new Rare Egg machine shaped like the EVA-01, as well as an unknown number of Evangelion-themed Ultimate Evolutions.

Like all Puzzle And Dragons crossover events, this new content will be added to the game at no charge to players. That said, this is a promotional effort designed to highlight the ongoing Evangelion reboot, Rebuild of Evangelion, so don't be surprised if you find appropriate ads within the puzzle hit.

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evangelionheavy-geariosipadiphonemechsmobilepuzzlePuzzle-and-Dragonsrobotsroleplaying-gamerpgtitansvertical-tanksFri, 21 Feb 2014 17:30:00 -050011|20835147http://www.joystiq.com/2014/02/19/curve-studios-leads-a-titan-invasion-on-sony-systems-this-summer/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Joystiq&ncid=rss_semi
http://www.joystiq.com/2014/02/19/curve-studios-leads-a-titan-invasion-on-sony-systems-this-summer/http://www.joystiq.com/2014/02/19/curve-studios-leads-a-titan-invasion-on-sony-systems-this-summer/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Joystiq#comments
Curve Studios will bring a game bundle called Titan Invasion to PS3, PS4 and Vita early this summer. The pack includes two arcade-style games from UK developer Puppygames, Titan Attacks and Revenge of the Titans.

Titan Attacks is an arcade shooter in the same vein as Galaga and Space Invaders, though Curve Studios says it includes "modern features, new strategies" as well as online leaderboards and an upgrade system. The game features over 100 levels, spanning five worlds. Puppygames' other creation, Revenge of the Titans, is deemed a thematic sequel that mixes real-time strategy and tower defense elements together.

Both Titan Attacks and Revenge of the Titans are available for $9.99 on Steam for PC, Mac and Linux. The Titan Invasion bundle will be Cross-Buy compatible on all three Sony systems.

Curve Studios
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aliensArcadearcade-shootercross-buycurve-studiosplaystationplaystation-vitaps3ps4PSNpuppygamesrevenge-of-the-titansRTSshooterSONYsummer-2014titan-attackstitan-invasionTitanstower-defensevitaWed, 19 Feb 2014 22:30:00 -050011|20833675http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/02/16/know-your-lore-tfh-edition-the-black-prince/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=WoW&ncid=rss_semi
http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/02/16/know-your-lore-tfh-edition-the-black-prince/http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/02/16/know-your-lore-tfh-edition-the-black-prince/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=WoW#commentsThe World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft.

Wrathion, the last black dragon -- to his knowledge -- on the entirety of Azeroth has been a puzzle from the moment his egg was created. His immediate response upon hatching was a vicious, calculated attack on his own flight via the use of assassins, which resulted in the nigh-extinction of the black dragonflight. And after completing that mission, he curiously chose, instead of going somewhere to be left alone as he stated he wanted, to go to Pandaria -- where he began an even curiouser journey that players were quickly swept into upon reaching level 90.

Wrathion's travels in Pandaria, his sudden gaining of a multitude of Blacktalon Agents, even the spot in which he chose to make his temporary home are all increasingly questionable, especially given what little we know about Wrathion himself. He gives us a grand, magnanimous story about how he's looking out for the world because he's seen visions of the Burning Legion coming to call, and of our world's destruction.

But he also said he was firmly on the side of the Horde, or the side of the Alliance, then swapped sides as efficiently as possible when it was convenient. In other words, Wrathion lies. He lies all the time. So the question we should be asking here is whether Wrathion has been giving us the real truth at all -- and what is the truth behind Wrathion's puzzling journey?

Today's Know Your Lore is a Tinfoil Hat edition. The following contains speculation and history based on known material. These speculations are merely theories and shouldn't be taken as fact or official lore.

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august-celestialsazerothblack-dragonflightburning-legioncelestialsfeaturedguideguide-to-lorelorelore-guidemists-of-pandariamoguold-godspandariarole-playrole-playing-guiderp-guideterrace-of-endless-springtitansvale-of-eternal-blossomsvalley-of-the-four-windsworld-of-warcraft-lorewow-guidewow-lorewow-role-playingwow-role-playing-guidewow-rpwow-rp-guidewow-rpingwrathionSun, 16 Feb 2014 20:00:00 -050099|20791571http://massively.joystiq.com/2014/02/02/eve-evolved-the-bloodbath-of-b-r5rb/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Massively&ncid=rss_semi
http://massively.joystiq.com/2014/02/02/eve-evolved-the-bloodbath-of-b-r5rb/http://massively.joystiq.com/2014/02/02/eve-evolved-the-bloodbath-of-b-r5rb/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Massively#comments
To the vast majority of gamers, EVE Online is an unforgiving sci-fi dystopia that's one part epic sandbox stories and nine parts spreadsheet. Once or twice per year, the gaming masses get a glimpse of the game's true depth when stories of incredible wars, political corruption, and record-breaking heists spread across the internet like wildfire. From the 2005 Guiding Hand Social Club heist that was plastered over the pages of gaming magazines to last year's infamous Battle of Asakai, tales of big events from EVE have always managed to grab the gaming media's attention.

This week saw the largest record-breaking battle to date as a total of 7,548 players belonging to EVE's two largest megacoalitions fought for control of an innocuous dead-end solar system in the Immensea region. A total of 11 trillion ISK in damage worth over $310,000 USD was inflicted during what has now become known as The Bloodbath of B-R5RB and is allegedly the largest PvP battle in gaming history. The odd story of how the fight started and its record-breaking destructive scale are both big news, but the unsung heroes of B-R5RB are the people who work behind the scenes to ensure that the server can remain online during major battles.

In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at how one player forgetting to check a box on a form sparked this immense battle and how technologies like Time Dilation help to keep the server online when the ship hits the fan.

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alliance-warfarealliancesB-R5RBBloodbathBloodbath-of-B-R5RBcapital-shipcapital-shipsccpccp-gamescfceveeve-evolvedeve-onlinefeaturedfleet-warfarelivestreamnullsecpandemic-legionpvpsandboxsci-fiserverserver-modeltime-dilationtitantitanswarwarfareSun, 02 Feb 2014 18:00:00 -0500319|20818213http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/11/24/know-your-lore-pandarias-mark-on-warcraft-lore/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=WoW&ncid=rss_semi
http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/11/24/know-your-lore-pandarias-mark-on-warcraft-lore/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/11/24/know-your-lore-pandarias-mark-on-warcraft-lore/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=WoW#commentsThe World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft.

A little over two years ago, Mists of Pandaria was officially announced as the next expansion at BlizzCon to the puzzlement of many players. The idea of an expansion built around the pandaren race was a polarizing one -- some people loved the idea, and some were less than enthused. Although the pandaren were included in game lore as early as Warcraft III, there were those that scoffed at the idea of an expansion built around a race of giant talking bears, saying that they had no place in Warcraft at all. A year later, Mists was officially launched, and a little over a year after that, the events of Mists of Pandaria are wrapping up in a suitably dramatic conclusion.

And to the delight of many, myself included, this expansion has been anything but lighthearted and silly. Mists of Pandaria wasn't just a random expansion about giant talking bears, it was a revolution in the way that story and gameplay intertwine. While it may have had its faltering moments -- the inclusion of enough daily quests to make players dizzy among them -- the story took a life of its own, and the tale it told has definitely left its mark on future lore to come. Let's be clear, here: For a continent left cloaked in Mists for thousands of years, Pandaria has managed to work its way into the face of Warcraft lore in a manner that won't be forgotten, and has given us enough material to spur the story of the game for quite some time.

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anduin-wrynnburning-legionscataclysmcurse-of-fleshemperor-shaohaofeaturedguideguide-to-lorejaina-proudmoorelei-shenlorelore-guidelorewalker-chomists-of-pandariamoguold-godsra-denrole-playrole-playing-guiderp-guideshado-pantaran-zhuthralltitansvarian-wrynnvoljinwarchiefwarlords-of-draenorworld-of-warcraft-lorewow-guidewow-lorewow-role-playingwow-role-playing-guidewow-rpwow-rp-guidewow-rpingwrath-of-the-lich-kingwrathionyshaarjSun, 24 Nov 2013 20:00:00 -050099|20774578http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/11/06/know-your-lore-tfh-the-aspects-of-the-titans/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=WoW&ncid=rss_semi
http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/11/06/know-your-lore-tfh-the-aspects-of-the-titans/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/11/06/know-your-lore-tfh-the-aspects-of-the-titans/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=WoW#commentsThe World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft.

Y'all know the drill here - this is a speculative jam. Nothing in this is to be taken as what Blizzard is actually saying.

In the distant past, Azeroth was formed by the hands of beings potent even beyond gods. These beings, known to us as Titans, have left the evidence of their presence in many ways - huge, magnificent complexes of astonishing construction, races shaped by their will, the prisons that held Yogg-Saron and Y'Shaarj's heart, and much more besides. From the Mogu'shan Vaults to Uldaman, from the fantastic jungles of Un'Goro to the Sholozar Basin, including the magnificent Vale of Eternal Blossoms the Titans left their mark in the very structure of Azeroth.

Recently the black dragon Wrathion consumed the heart of Lei Shen the Thunder King, a mogu warlord empowered by the stolen power and knowledge of Master Ra (known as Ra-Den to them), a Titan Watcher similar to those left behind in Ulduar. When he did that, he spoke the following words: "We have fallen. We must rebuild the Final Titan. Do not forget." I've wondered long and hard what that could mean. But it wasn't until I considered the powers the Titans bestowed upon the five Dragon Aspects so long ago. Their control of life, magic, dreams, the very land beneath our feet and time's ebb and flow was so absolute that it beggars the imagination, and it also asks us a question - could they bestow this power, if they did not have it themselves, and more besides?

We casually discuss the vast oceans of time that separate us from the Titans. Untold tens of thousands of years, perhaps more - indeed, none can say exactly how far in the past the Titans began their ordering of the universe, much less arrived to create Azeroth. Sargeras had already fallen to be the Dark Titan over 25,000 years ago, but how far before that is unknown to us. But it brings a question to mind - how could such powerful entities seemingly vanish? Why have they left their creations to their own devices? Why are emissaries such as Algalon watching over their creation, rather than the Titans themselves? Is it merely that they are so distant from mundane mortal concerns, living on a scale vastly beyond our comprehension?

I submit it is something else entirely. To determine what, we must look at their actions, and the servants they've chosen to enact their will.

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AmanThulfeaturedguideguide-to-lorelorelore-guideMurozondNozdormuPantheonrole-playrole-playing-guiderp-guideSargerasTitansworld-of-warcraft-lorewow-guidewow-lorewow-role-playingwow-role-playing-guidewow-rpwow-rp-guidewow-rpingWed, 06 Nov 2013 15:00:00 -050099|20760716http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/11/03/know-your-lore-tfh-edition-what-are-the-old-gods/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=WoW&ncid=rss_semi
http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/11/03/know-your-lore-tfh-edition-what-are-the-old-gods/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/11/03/know-your-lore-tfh-edition-what-are-the-old-gods/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=WoW#commentsThe World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft.

They are malignant entities, forces of chaos and destruction that were locked beneath Azeroth long, long before most of the sentient races we know today came to be. The Old Gods, horrific creatures capable of warping mind and thought, bending "lesser creatures" to their whim, once reigned supreme on Azeroth until they fell to the Titans. Yet they persisted still, even from within their prisons deep beneath the soil. C'thun, Yogg-Saron, N'zoth, and even the haunted last breaths of the Old God Y'Shaarj have presented a persistent menace that simply will not go away.

And according to at least some accounts told in Titan records, it's because they can't go away. They can't be killed. Destroying the Old Gods would result in the destruction of Azeroth itself, which is why the Titans chose to merely imprison them instead of flat-out destroy. But one question lingers, in the midst of all the this muddled history. Who -- or perhaps more appropriately, what -- are the Old Gods? Where did they come from? Which version of their history is correct ... or is the truth simply sitting somewhere in between the two?

Today's Know Your Lore is a Tinfoil Hat edition, meaning the following is a look into what has gone before with pure speculation on how it happened. These speculations are merely theories and shouldn't be taken as fact or official lore.

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ancientsaugust-celestialsazerothburning-legioncthunfeaturedguideguide-to-lorelorelore-guidelovecraftnzothold-godsrole-playrole-playing-guiderp-guidetitansworld-of-warcraft-lorewow-guidewow-lorewow-role-playingwow-role-playing-guidewow-rpwow-rp-guidewow-rpingyogg-saronyshaarjSun, 03 Nov 2013 20:00:00 -050099|20759555http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/10/27/know-your-lore-which-side-is-wrathion-on-anyway/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=WoW&ncid=rss_semi
http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/10/27/know-your-lore-which-side-is-wrathion-on-anyway/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/10/27/know-your-lore-which-side-is-wrathion-on-anyway/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=WoW#commentsThe World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft.

Once upon a time, an egg from a corrupted flight of dragons was purified. Even before he hatched, the dragon in that egg began to plot and plan. His first step was freedom -- both from those who sought to contain him, and those who sought to kill him. The second, far larger step was born of a vision ... a terrifying vision of a precious, fragile world abruptly coming to a devastating end. Wrathion is one of the stranger characters to have been introduced in Warcraft. While his plans in Cataclysm were fairly straight forward, Mists has proven to be a far more complicated gambit.

And through all of the quests and all of the plans, Wrathion has remained as enigmatic as he was the first time rogues set eyes on him. He can be cruel, he can be downright merciless if the need calls for it. Yet at the same time, he seems to possess an altruistic capacity that we've simply never seen before from a black dragon. He'll promise the world to you, and then turn around and promise the same to your enemy. Is he bad? Is he good? Is he siding with the Alliance or Horde? What makes Wrathion tick, and just whose side is he on?

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aspectsbadlandsblack-dragonflightburning-legiondeathwingfeaturedguideguide-to-lorelorelore-guidemists-of-pandarianeltharionpandariapandaria-legendaryravenholdtrheastraszarogue-legendaryrole-playrole-playing-guiderp-guidesargerasthrone-of-thundertitansworld-of-warcraft-lorewow-guidewow-lorewow-role-playingwow-role-playing-guidewow-rpwow-rp-guidewow-rpingwrathionSun, 27 Oct 2013 20:00:00 -040099|20754514http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/08/25/know-your-lore-the-life-and-legacy-of-lei-shen/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=WoW&ncid=rss_semi
http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/08/25/know-your-lore-the-life-and-legacy-of-lei-shen/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/08/25/know-your-lore-the-life-and-legacy-of-lei-shen/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=WoW#commentsThe World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft.

Once upon a time, somewhere in the dawn of Azeroth's history, before the Sundering split the world in two, there was a race of warlords called the mogu. Violent and cruel, the mogu fought relentlessly against everything -- including each other. That is, until one day when one mogu sought out the history and secrets of his people's past, discovering that they were creatures of far more potential, far more purpose than any had realized. It was a secret long forgotten, and the mighty Lei Shen not only uncovered it, but brought that secret back to his people.

For untold years after Lei Shen emerged from the depths of the Isle of Thunder, the mogu reigned supreme on Pandaria. They captured and enslaved the weaker races, forcing them into servitude. It was not until after the death of Lei Shen that the pandaren race finally rose up with the hozen, the jinyu, and even the grummles to disrupt and reduce the armies of the mogu to rubble, taking the continent of Pandaria back as their own and ruling in peace.

In the waning hours of Lei Shen's inevitable downfall at the hands of Azeroth's heroes, we'll soon be leaving these relics of ages past behind, and instead focusing on the future of our world. But the history of the mogu, the history of Lei Shen is not a tale we should soon forget.

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curse-of-fleshfeaturedguideguide-to-loreisle-of-thunderlei-shenlorelore-guidemogumogu-empiremonkold-godspandaren-empirepandariara-denrole-playrole-playing-guiderp-guidethunder-kingtitan-keeperstitan-watcherstitansulduarworld-of-warcraft-lorewow-guidewow-lorewow-role-playingwow-role-playing-guidewow-rpwow-rp-guidewow-rpingyogg-saronSun, 25 Aug 2013 20:00:00 -040099|20702941http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/08/18/know-your-lore-tfh-edition-the-dark-below/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=WoW&ncid=rss_semi
http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/08/18/know-your-lore-tfh-edition-the-dark-below/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/08/18/know-your-lore-tfh-edition-the-dark-below/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=WoW#commentsThe World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft.

I see them! A million worlds glittering in their perfection! One above all others! We have fallen, we must rebuild the final Titan! Do not forget.

Wrathion may have just finished chowing down on the heart of the Thunder King when he rattled off that strange speech about this bizarre "final Titan," but what he said seemed to indicate there is far more going on in Pandaria than we'd thought. Or, on the other hand, there is far more going on in Azeroth than we thought. Things that must be taken care of, things so urgent that Wrathion is attempting to set the war between Alliance and Horde on fast-forward so that we can skip that part and simply jump to what he thinks is the important stuff.

Earlier this week, Blizzard appeared to be trademarking something called The Dark Below, and many have speculated that it's the name of the next WoW expansion, largely because of the existence of Ozumat and his title, Fiend of the Dark Below. The trademark was later revealed as a possible hoax -- and later still, revealed to be a trademark in Europe. So is it WoW? If it is a WoW trademark, what could possibly be in an expansion with that title?

I have absolutely no idea. But that makes for some excellent Tinfoil Hat speculation, so why don't we look at what could potentially be lurking in The Dark Below?

Today's Know Your Lore is a Tinfoil Hat edition, meaning the following is a look into what has gone before with pure speculation on how it happened. These speculations are merely theories and shouldn't be taken as fact or official lore.

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azerothazsharaburning-legionemerald-dreamemerald-nightmareexpansion-speculationfeaturedfinal-titanguideguide-to-lorelorelore-guidenazjatarnyalothanzothold-godsozumatpuzzle-box-of-yogg-saronqueen-azshararift-of-alnrole-playrole-playing-guiderp-guidesargerasthe-dark-belowtitansworld-of-warcraft-loreworld-of-warcraft-the-dark-belowwow-guidewow-lorewow-role-playingwow-role-playing-guidewow-rpwow-rp-guidewow-rpingwrathionSun, 18 Aug 2013 20:00:00 -040099|20697283http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/08/15/what-if-cult-of-the-mechanical/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=WoW&ncid=rss_semi
http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/08/15/what-if-cult-of-the-mechanical/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/08/15/what-if-cult-of-the-mechanical/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=WoW#comments
You guys remember the What If game, right, where Anne Stickney and I go back and forth on concocting a scenario for an expansion built around specific lore figures? Last time, Anne gave us Garona Halforcen, and ended up lobbing me Gelbin Mekkatorque. On the surface, Gelbin Mekkatorque is perhaps the most absurd choice for an expansion-defining villain yet. People like Velen, Shandris Feathermoon, or Alexstrasza may be unlikely, but they're at least active. Gelbin hasn't taken any significant action since the abortive reclamation of Gnomeregan. It's easy to forget just how astonishingly brilliant Gelbin actually is. This is the mind that invented the mechanostrider, that designed the Deeprun Tram, that built the first prototype of the now-infamous Dwarven Siege Engine.

Yet, despite his intelligence and the love the gnomes bear him (for his is an elected position, and the fact that Gelbin has held it despite his people's exile from their home city is evidence of their regard for him) Gelbin suffers greatly from his failures. His failure to protect Gnomeregan from the troggs, his failure to understand what his friend Sicco Thermaplugg was really up to and thus prevent the loss of his people's great city, and his failure to reclaim the city from Thermaplug over the past years since the Third War have all weighed heavily upon him.

Let us look now upon the slow transformation of gnomish society and consider that it might be too slow for the gnome who invented the fastest tram in the world.

The World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft.

Wrathion made his debut in the Cataclysm expansion -- not as a raid boss, but as a clever ally to rogues looking for legendary weapons. His words seemed genuine and sincere, although his actions revealed a vicious streak that players would be wise to avoid. Yet his origins go back even further, to a small quest chain in the Badlands in which Wrathion is born to a mother who is captive of the red dragonflight, his egg later tampered with and then hidden for safe-keeping.

He's only two years old, give or take a few months. Yet Wrathion is far, far more clever than one would expect for someone of his young age. And given his actions in Cataclysm, and later in Mists of Pandaria, one thing remains perfectly clear: This is not your typical dragon. But what exactly is Wrathion after? What, exactly, is the purpose of his scheming, and perhaps most importantly -- should we be worried?

Please note: There are some small spoilers for patch 5.4 content in this post.